Language prohibiting Arkansas from spending money on advertising or promoting the state's private option Medicaid expansion program failed to pass through a legislative subcommittee Wednesday.
A motion before the Special Language subcommittee of the Joint Budget Committee to approve the prohibition language failed after several members left the meeting early. The measure needed eight votes to be recommended to the full budget committee, but was held up by a 7-to-2 roll call vote.
"Not having a whole lot of members there was the challenge today," said Rep. Stephen Meeks, R-Greenbrier. "The subcommittee will present a report on recommendations [today] to the committee saying we approved all of these other pieces. What we'll do is say that the committee took no formal action on that language, because it wasn't recommended, but it wasn't deleted either."
Meeks said the subcommittee chairman will ask the committee when it meets today to approve the recommendations report with the exception of the prohibition language today and attempt to pass the provision through the full committee.
"The challenge you face is people who were not re-elected or who are [term-limited] and for lack of a better phrase... they've checked out and aren't showing up for the committee meetings," he said. "My guess is that we're going to have a challenge getting it passed [today] simply by not having enough members. Even if it doesn't pass [today], what that means is it would have to be amended back in during the session when we'll have more people. It's not final until the session."
The prohibition was approved by the Legislature during this year's fiscal session as a compromise aimed at gaining enough votes from the state's 100 House members to meet the three-fourths supermajority threshold required to approve appropriations.
The measure prohibits the state from spending money on advertising or actively soliciting enrollment for the private option program. As of October, more than 182,000 Arkansans had enrolled in the program, which uses federal Medicaid dollars to allow low-income Arkansans to purchase private insurance plans.
The program extends insurance coverage to adults with incomes of up to 138 percent of the poverty level -- $16,105 for an individual or $32,913 for a family of four. The federal money pays for 100 percent of the private option costs through Jan. 1, 2017, when the state will be required to begin paying 5 percent of program costs. The state's share will gradually increase to 10 percent in fiscal 2020.
Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, who will leave office in January because of term limits, led the opposition Wednesday. He and Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, voted against the language.
Nickels asked for a roll call vote of the nine present members when Meeks, who was filling in as chairman, said he heard enough yes votes to pass the measure.
"I believe I heard at least two no votes," Nickels said.
NW on 11/20/2014